Today, companies and persons rely on having consistent supply of power to electronic devices more than ever before. Without power, companies may be unable to manufacture goods, or to operate at all, such as if the company is in the business of supplying information over the Internet. Without power, businesses and individuals may be completely incapacitated regarding critical activities, such as making goods, providing services, and transacting personal finances (e.g., filing tax returns, and paying bills). Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) are often used to provide backup power in case of a power outage. UPSs are commonly used on computing equipment to guard against data being lost due to a power outage before the data are saved. UPSs used with computing equipment also help to guard against a loss in service by providers of information over the Internet, such as by servers, e.g., hosting web pages.
Frequently, individuals and companies monitor the supply of power to electronic devices or facilities to ensure that their affairs and/or businesses are not significantly affected by a power outage, a change in status or some other power alteration. Devices are monitored for various events and/or alarms for the purposes of diagnosing and correcting problems. It is often of critical importance that problems be diagnosed, alerted to a user, and corrective action taken as promptly as possible. Which occurrences of alterations and power, in particular, nations of such alterations, are meaningful to a particular user can be different than those of significance to another user.
Other types of information are also often monitored for various reasons. For example, environmental devices may be monitored for information such as temperature, humidity, smoke presence, water leakage, gas leakage, etc., e.g., to help determine and/or regulate environmental conditions as they may affect operation of equipment. For another example, access and security related information may be monitored, such as passcards being used, biometric identification being entered, doors being opened, etc., e.g., to help determine whether there has been improper access to a designated area and/or a potential security breach has occurred. Still other types of information may be monitored for these or other reasons.